A Safe Haven?
by ChocoboHead
Summary: Young Aerith has decided to do some volunteer work at the hospital in Midgar, when one day a certain teen is dragged in all the way from his hometown of Gongaga. Can she put up with him?
1. Chapter 1

When I was taken into my new home, I lived with a new "mother" and I learned how to care for myself. After much time of mourning my losses and distancing myself from other people, I finally learned that I could find true happiness by caring for the living creatures around me and help them to overcome their troubles. My new "mother"—Elmyra, if you will-- decided that I could find that true happiness at the little hospital in Midgar. Therefore, I volunteered.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself, my name is Aerith, I am fifteen years old, I was captured once when I was small along with my real mother and she died. I was to be a test subject…but I escaped. I had some trouble with the Turks; they keep watch over me now. They pretend I have no idea that they do, but that does not mean I do not know! I joined the hospital to love and care for people, but unfortunately, they do not let me care for anyone.

I am a paperwork monkey.

Now, Midgar is a place swimming with injuries. I see people with all from broken bones to missing limbs every day. It makes me sad when they come in and I cannot help. All I do is take blood down to the lab, copy their paperwork, put it in their file, duplicate it, and then deliver their release sheet to the front desk. That seems to be all that I can do without their precious "experience."

I was making release packets, that one interesting day. I was at my little lonesome desk and it was the first time I had seen such a violent patient…

* * *

"PUT ME DOWN!" He screamed kicking his legs into the large man's shoulders. This man, who was obviously this boy's father due to the great resemblance, had his son swung over his left shoulder, and was doing great means to keep him there.

I could not help but stare at the two as they walked down the corridor, I then noticed the tiny mother who was doing her best to keep an old rag wrapped tightly around her son's leg.

"Mum, I'm seventeen," he muttered, "I can do that by myself. I'm gonna be a SOLDIER in a year or two, I should be able to take care of my own 'battle scars'…"

"Not if you insist on looking like you're seven, instead of seventeen," she protested.

_Seventeen?_ I questioned as I watched him give his father a good jab in the shoulder again with his good leg, before he finally surrendered.

"Look," the woman cooed, "Zack, you've got an audience."

_I've been caught! _I thought to myself. I quickly found myself concentrating deeply on paper clipping a booklet about painkillers onto one of the packets. Of course, me being the clutz that I am, while trying to paper clip the whole packet together, it buckled and spewed its contents onto the floor.

After picking up the remains of the packet up, I thought it was safe to finally look up.

_Wrong._

The group was signing in at the front desk. Usually, that was a safe time to look up, but not this particular time, oh no, defiantly not now when I didn't feel like being stared at.

He was still swung over his father's shoulder, so that meant he was facing me. The one time I did not want to be right!

Yup. He was facing me.

I felt my cheeks get hot, and I gained the courage to look up at this "Zack."

When I did, I regretted it—at least I did at the time.

At first, I had only seen hair; spiky, cobalt hair. The cobalt head slid up to meet my gaze. Then, those lavender eyes met mine. The eyes and hair did not have much contrast between each other, but there was a deep contrast between them and his skin. He was very pale, I wasn't sure then if that was how he had always looked, or if that was because he had lost so much blood.

I felt that I should run, because he had just caught me staring at him _again_. He smiled, a crooked grin that felt very friendly and warm to me. I didn't really want to run after that. He made me feel like we were already good friends…

Then he winked at me.

After he did that, I made my choice to check the clock. Regardless, I was going to leave anyway for lunch, but I thought it would look a little funny going to lunch around 10:00. I prayed it was around noon.

11:54. _Close enough_. I thought to myself. I rushed as quickly as I could to get to the elevator and away from that empty desk, which seemed so much like a cage now.

I pushed the down arrow as hard as I could, and luckily for me, there was no wait for the doors to slide open. I pushed the "B" button repeatedly. I muttered "basement" many times to myself when, finally, the doors did slide shut.

I watched that smirk fall off Zack's face as the doors quietly sealed themselves.

I felt claustrophobic when the doors finally opened. I didn't like to see the few patients I did see be unhappy, especially if I was the one who caused it. Guilt consumed me.

I wasn't _too_ fond of guilt either.

When I got my lunch from the cafeteria, usually, I felt much better. Not today.

I was the only volunteer that actually ate the salads the hospital had to offer. They were quite good actually, they had every vegetable under the sun, and they were one of the best things about this dismal place.

I opened the door to the outside of this place. I looked around, there were a few benches for the patients—even though they weren't allowed back here, asphalt, cars, more asphalt, and a tiny, tiny patch of grass with a tree in the center. That was where I ate my lunch, every day.

I could also see every patient's room on the left side of the hospital from here.

_I wonder what room he's in…_ I found myself thinking.

_Maybe he's in that one. _I looked up on the third floor to see the blinds shut, and the light of the television flickering against the curtains.

_...Or that one...? _I glanced at the window on the first floor with a nurse straitening the sheets on an empty bed.

_Then, on the other hand,…_ I looked at one of the windows of the second floor and saw a doctor fly up against it.

"That one?" I suggested to myself, as I watched Dr. Collin shake his head and put something in his pocket.

I giggled when the teenager threw himself against the window in attempt to free himself from one of the kindest doctors we had here.

He looked down to measure the drop, I guess –those windows were sealed anyway, he wasn't going to get out—when he spotted me.

"Hi!" he mouthed, wildly waving a hand at me.

I stifled a giggle, when I noticed there were actually two reasons why Dr. Collin appeared to not like Zack that much…

One was that he refused to take his meds, I couldn't help but notice the syringe in the doctor's hand. Moreover, the second, unbelievably, took me longer to figure out than the doctor trying to sneak up. Zack refused to wear the clothes given to him.

I silently thanked him in my head because he was still wearing his pants.

I pointed fast enough at Dr. Collin for Zack to jump out of his way.

_There must be a mess of blood all over the place up there…_ I thought as the doctor finally caught him and stuck the needle in the teenager's arm.

I watched the curtains slide shut –thinking I was hearing some muffled swear words, as I laughed quietly to myself.

* * *

"Hey Aeris," Dr Collin smiled at me as I walked up to him in the elevator. He always called me 'Aeris' and never 'Aerith'.

"Hello, Dr. Collin," I answered walking in, "having a good day?"

"Yes, yes, a very good day," he was lying and I knew it, but Dr. Collin never worried his patients, friends, or family about his life/annoying patient.

"That's good," I answered.

The doors opened on the second floor and I looked around, half expecting him to get off.

"Aeris, while we're here," he asked, smiling, "could you get some water for the patient in 217? I gave him some medication about half an hour ago and he's probably thirsty."

"Sure thing!" I answered getting off the elevator, "bye!"

I absolutely loved doing that job. When you give patients water, they usually want to talk to you, and that makes them feel more comfortable in the position they're in.

I entered the cold room where the ice machine, pitchers, cups, and sink were kept. Each pitcher had a room number and the last name of the patient on it.

"217…"I muttered, scanning through the pitchers with several differing numbers, "where are you 217?"

"219…213…" I noted looking through them, "217 Fair, found it!" I smiled to myself at my accomplishment. I quickly filled it with ice and water and I skipped down to room 217.

When I got there, I quickly checked the notes on the door to see if this patient had no liquid restrictions. The following note surprised me:

**No visitors allowed unless emergency. **

I knew what that meant, I wasn't allowed to go inside. Then again, why was the doctor asking me to come…alone…without an adult…, It all added up when I saw the name.

**Fair, Zackary**

Were the nurses trying to play matchmaker again?!

"Zackary Fair," I muttered shaking my head.

"Yeah?"

Right then, I knew I shouldn't have said anything.

"H-hi," I said as I walked in, setting the pitcher of water on the closest table.

"Oh, hi!" He grinned.

When he grinned, I grimaced.

"What's wrong?" he asked innocently.

"What…did…you…do?" I accused.

"Nothing, nothing…I just…agreed…to…pay…"He fumbled along with his words.

"ZACK!"

"What?"

"That's illegal and…what are you doing?"

He was staring at the blank wall ahead of him, really, there wasn't much there, just the television—and that was off.

"I'm reading my rights as a patient…There isn't much about what I _can't _do… It says I have the right to see a quality staff and those that should be able to grant my needs…"

I saw the useless paper in it's frame directly across from him. Yes, those rights were there but nobody has taken them seriously before. _Wow,_ I thought, _he's serious! Is he crazy or something?_

"…And guess what _Aeris_…I'm bored," He smiled a crooked grin that made him seem like he was completely innocent. Even though he's _not_!

* * *

_**ch. 2 is coming. Is Aerith going to put up with Zack? Ch. 3 is going to be interesting!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_Aeris_, I thought to myself, _defiantly Dr. Collin's doing_.

"How much?" I asked raising an eyebrow. He must've known what I was implying, but he sure did know how to _look_ innocent when he wanted to.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You know exactly what I mean! You said you paid off the doctor… how much?" I put my hands on my hips, it's usually what I did when I wanted to look serious, I wasn't sure if I did now because Zack was laughing so hard, the bed shook.

"Actually," he said in a matter-of-factly tone, "it was only 300gil. Nothing much."

I wasn't sure to be offended, happy, or confused. So, I just smiled at his effort.

"So now what? I'm still bored," he squirmed around on the bed before giving up, "These restraints are killer! Do a guy a favor, please?"

"They restrained you? How?" I looked over the bed searching for their usual arm restraints; obviously, they didn't use those for him. He didn't seem like he would be the type to be restrained, but, then again…

I had a sudden flashback of Dr. Collin's face smearing against the window, I sighed, and they'd probably make me clean that up during Zack's shower-time.

"Yes, they restrained me!" He made a show of kicking the blankets that covered the bed off him.

I covered my eyes with my hands, by habit. He let out a suppressed sigh as he forced my hands away from my eyes. He gestured with a snap of his arm that in fact, he was still wearing the pants he came in with.

"Like I knew!" I moaned, observing the yellow belts wrapped around his stomach. "Oh, that's an easy fix," I giggled twisting the lemon colored fabric in many directions, "I've always known how to get out of these things, It's a good thing to know."

"May I ask how?" he said, holding in laughter, "were you in a mental hospital or something?"

"No!" I yelped. Actually, you could say that I was, but not for problems with my mind. It was…complicated. I didn't want to talk about it.

"Are you from around here?" I asked, changing the subject. I loved it when people told their stories; maybe I'd like Zack's as well, no matter how much of a pain he was.

"Nope," he popped the 'P' for emphasis, "Gongaga." He wiggled up out of the belt and crossed his legs on the bed, "what about you?"

"I've always lived here, but I would do anything to get out." I imagined Gongaga as being a country place, with few cars, trucks, and traffic. I envied him so much now.

"What's Gongaga like?" I asked, tilting my head to the side, I actually wanted to hear what he had to say.

"Dirt," he grumbled, lifting his pants leg and inspecting his wound, "Oh, and trees…" He winced touching the bandages, "…very tall trees, with pointy limbs that hurt when you fall into them…"

"Really, and—"I started but he cut me off.

"Fall wasn't the right word; it's really more like _crash_."

"What were you doing in the tree?" I asked. This might be an interesting story after all…

"Well…my buddies dared me first…Then I had to find a way to get the cow down…" He chuckled, nervously ruffling his dark hair, "then Mum discovered not only had I managed to get myself stuck, I had managed to get a cow in a tree…"

This _was _an interesting story. The man shouldn't be called a child; he should be called a freaking genus!

"Let's just say," He smirked, "A friend of mine owes me a lot of gil…and I suppose it's worth the stitches…"

I was curious, blood usually made me squirmy but…

"How many stitches do you need?" I found myself asking.

"About six," he said, like it was nothing. When he said that, I automatically felt extremely fragile and vulnerable. I hated that _one_ thing about this job. I hated people getting hurt, which was unfortunate for me because I was working in a hospital.

"I have to go!" I said quickly, feeling quite nauseous.

"Aeris, wait!"

I darted to the elevator and pulled the same act I did, but an hour ago, except this time…

* * *

"Not too fond of blood, huh?" A voice asked me from behind as the doors shut.

"Nuh-uh…"I mumbled putting my hand on my head.

"I'll be more careful next time…you're my favorite, I wouldn't want to scare you away."

"Mmm," I said in reply, "wait, huh?"

I turned around to meet those lavender eyes again…

"Now I understand why I questioned taking the restraints off!" I pushed the '2' button hard, "ZACK, GET BACK TO BED!" I yelled. I was really irritated now.

"What if I don't wanna!" he complained. I take back what I said about him being a genus.

"I've got two reasons," I said as the doors opened, then shut again on the first floor. "One," I grinned, "is that the patients are having fried mushroom tomorrow…"

I saw the look on his face and guessed that my hypothesis of him being a carnivore was correct.

"…and everyone else is having sandwiches. I'll get you food," I finished.

As the doors opened to the second floor, "And the second," I continued, "Is that I won't come back to see you tomorrow, if you don't get back to your room!"

"Okies!" He squeaked, grinning at me. He knew I was treating him like a child and he intended to get as much fun as possible out of this, "…but, Aeris, my boo-boo hurts and I don't think I can walk."

_Well, if that's how he wants me to treat him…_

"It's okay, sweetie, but you have to try to walk, okay?"

He nodded in reply.

As we got into the room, he sat down on his bed. He used his normal voice again, "I'll stay here under one condition."

_What could it be now?_ I thought.

"You will call me sweetie again, right _honey_?"

_Does this guy ever honestly stop?_

**Ch. 3 is coming! Yay, Ch 3! I don't own Square-Enix, nor Final Fantasy. If I did, I'd be very rich and wouldn't be writing this. Who else thinks Zack is a fun character?**

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

I turned from him then, and stomped out the door

I turned from him then, and stomped out the door.

"Aer-is," he whined, "I'm _bored._"

I couldn't help it. I felt through my pockets for the candy for the children. This would be funny.

Turning quickly, I through a strawberry flavored lollipop at Zack's head. He amazingly caught it with a swift flick of his wrist, which had me a bit baffled.

"I really like grape better, but it's the thought that counts," he smirked, pulling the wrapper off, "what do I do with this anyway?"

I rolled my eyes, "throw it at the television, maybe you'll turn it on."

"Ah," he got the hint and grabbed the remote. I _finally_ had the chance to step out.

However, I didn't have peace for long.

As I rushed to the elevator, one of my "favorite" nurses stopped me.

"Aerith, can you go to the basement and make a few copies of this?" she handed me a patient's chart. "Also," she said, "I need you to take this to the O.R., and can you do that? Thank you, please." She handed me a stiff piece of paper.

I sighed, and shuffled past her into the elevator. _They always treat me as if I am four!_

* * *

I skimmed through the chart. I know it was not my place to be nosy, but I couldn't help it!

"Room number," I muttered, still skimming, "age, seventeen," I mumbled.

"Oh the irony!" I chuckled, placing Zack's medical orders facedown on the copier.

I'm not sure what drove me to do the following act, but I decided to look further into Zack's medical records.

_I wonder why he's stayed so long, they actually could've brought him straight in and they could've fixed his leg…_ my curiosity would be the end of me one day.

I studied the O.R. notice and wished I didn't.

Half of the tree was still in his leg!

I snapped my eyes shut. _I hate my curiosity. I hate my curiosity. I HATE MY CURIOSITY!_

Why did I have to make a stupid move like that?

I snagged the information off the copier, and slapped a new paper onto the glass.

_Wait, did…that was…was that an infusion notice?_

As the copy came off the printer, I stared at the title of the paper blankly.

_Infusion? For what?_

Let me tell you one thing about Midgar's infusion center before I get too far ahead of myself.

Our infusion center is unlike any infusion center that I have ever seen. Yes, we give infusion treatment to people with diseases and such, but our infusion center is also known for distribution of mako. I actually used to work there, but after you hear the whir of their machines, and see the pain in those men's faces…

I guess you never want to remember.

I looked over the whole paper, front to back, looking for some sign that this wasn't going to be a mako infusion. Do you know what the paper said?

_Nothing._

* * *

The next day seemed harder. Zack seemed comatose due to all the medication they had given him, and stayed quiet for most of the day. _The one day I wouldn't mind talking._

I seemed empty today; it seemed though, that Zack _did_ matter more than those other SOLDIERs that I've seen.

_Why?_

I stared blankly at the new bandaging on his leg. They removed the remains of the tree branches last night, he must feel relieved. It just seemed so quiet today; I actually missed his impolite comments. Never thought that would happen!

"Aeris?"

When I heard that, I nearly jumped out of my skin. I decided to spend my day here, even though I knew that I really shouldn't be here.

"Yeah?" I answered, a little uneasy.

"I have sumthin' for you," his speech was slurred. The doctor hit him good, didn't he?

"Yeah?"

"My mother dropped sumthin' off for me to cheer me up, but I'd like you to have it 'cause it isn't really my thing."

"O-okay."

"T'is over next to the sink," He smiled weakly as I turned my head.

It was the first time I had ever seen flowers since I was very small.

Orange daises, they seemed to be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I stared curiously at them, all tied up in their little bouquet.

Zack started to chuckle.

"What?" I asked turning to him.

"S'nothing," he smiled.

"_What?_" I whined.

"It's just, I've never seen you smile before, and I kinda like your smile." He blushed a bit, and then it was gone in an instant. He folded his arms across his chest.

"So do you like them?" he asked.

"Yes! Of course I do, flowers are so uncommon here," I whispered, fingering the silky petals.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Zack, I have a confession to make," I admitted, turning to face him again, "I know what they're going to do to you tomorrow morning."

"…and…" he pressed, waving me forward.

"Aren't you scared?"

"Nuh-uh," he gazed out of his window, "look at him, I want to be just like him."

I saw a midnight black motorcycle zipping down the highway. The man driving it was easy to identify, even if he was going down the road with a speed of sixty-five. I only caught a glimpse of the medium-length silver hair whipping behind him as he disappeared out of sight around a bend.

"That's a first-class general, a hero." Zack said with great admiration.

_What was he doing here?_

"Maybe…you'll get to befriend him." I suggested

"_Befriend_," he scoffed, "If I'm lucky, I'll be able to fight along side him!"

_Fight. Why did he have to fight? Isn't that the purpose of SOLDIER, though?_

_Fighting..._

**There's chapter 3! Sorry it took so long! Chapter 4 will be up soon (yay) anyway, I don't Zack, Aerith, of Sephiroth, or else I'd be able to afford to buy the characters! Zack seems ready to become a SOLDIER, but is Aerith ready? Hmmm...**


	4. Chapter 4

I stayed with Zack all day. Regardless if I knew if I were caught, I would be fired.

_So what? If they hurt him, I would quit anyway. It's only volunteer work._

"Zack," I asked out of curiosity, "Do you know why that general was here?"

Zack smiled his amazing grin again, "Meeeeeee…" he answered happily.

"Zack...Zack," I never finished my thought, so I changed my question, "y-you don't _just _become a SOLDIER do you?

"Nuh-uh," he said, still grinning, "I've been training since I was fourteen for tomorrow! Then I'll really get to learn! Aeris, I'll be a hero!"

"R-right, a hero…"

"Aeris, what's with all the stuttering? Is something wrong?"

"N-no."

The smile faded from his lips, his face grew serious. It frightened me horribly.

"There you go again! St-stut-stuttering. _Why_?"

"I-it's just…" I fumbled.

He lifted an eyebrow as I sighed; I was doing it _again_, wasn't I?

"I'm _afraid_," I finished.

"Of what?" He mocked playfully.

"Nothing. Never mind, it's unimportant."

I didn't want to tell him I was afraid. Afraid of him. Afraid of what he'll become…If I told him…

He might not do it…

…and, I didn't want that.

I think I turned too quickly. To avoid him seeing my watery eyes, I ran out of the room. I think I hit him with my braid. Oops.

He shouted my name, but despite that, I never turned around. I knew because of the leg and meds, he couldn't chase after me. I'm not sure if I was happy for that or not. I did want someone to comfort me.

I wanted _Zack_ to comfort me.

* * *

I decided to quit. Give up and quit. I never cried. _Never. _Why did Zack trigger all these emotions? Maybe it was because I took so much care of him, I had become attached.

Was that a good thing, or a bad thing?

Bad I suppose. Or else I wouldn't be holding back tears.

I turned in my resignation and uniform to the secretary that afternoon. I loved this job; I really did, especially in the last few days.

"Aerith, you're always welcome to come back anytime. You worked harder than all the rest. We'll all miss you here," Mrs. Lizzy smiled sweetly. I liked her the most; we talked a lot when she wasn't needed at the desk.

"I'll miss you too, thanks," I waved goodbye as I left for the elevator. I pushed the down arrow one final time as I headed for the basement. My heart sank to the pit of my stomach.

Was this really the end? I didn't want to leave Zack like this…

I soon found myself under _my_ tree again, daydreaming…

* * *

"_Aer!"_

"_Yes?"_

_The overjoyed teenager held a jet-black puppy in his arms._

"_Look what followed me home!" he laughed, as the puppy licked his face._

"_He must've thought you were family," I giggled, "You two do look alike."_

"_Do not!"_

"_Do too!" I argued, "You both have black hair and are both spastic!"_

"_Well, I suppose you're right." He agreed, "I guess I'm giving you my little brother, or cousin or something." _

"_You're giving it to me?" I asked, eyes going wide._

"_Of course, so even if I'm not here," he laughed quietly, "I guess it'll always remind you of me."_

"_What's his name?" I asked, stroking the puppy's ears. _

"_I haven't named it."_

"_Then I have a name for him. Let's name him—,"_

* * *

"Aeris!"

I looked up to see the same teenage boy calling my name, muffled, through the glass of his room. He banged on the window, and shouted something I couldn't understand...

I took a quick glance at him, and then turned away.

_The tears are coming again…_

A gasp escaped from me as I ran all the way home. _Why was he doing this to me!_

_Zack,_ I scolded him in my mind, _leave me alone, and become a SOLDIER! It's what you want…but please, stay away from me, stay far away!_

"_But why?" he asked._ I was hearing him in my mind! I must be going crazy…I was hearing what I wanted to hear…even though it would not happen.

…_because…_I answered, _SOLDIER are scary, they fight so much, and they aren't normal…I don't want to see you as one, you're too…_

"Nice," I said aloud.

That was the full truth. I never wanted to see him like that. I've seen SOLDIER before and they weren't kind, or funny, or gentle…they seemed mean, like a bully.

I didn't want to see my only friend as a bully…

I liked him too much…

Maybe it was a tad bit more…

I arrived at my home a bit early. I walked quietly to my room and sunk into my bed. It was still bright outside, so I shoved the pillow over my face.

I dreamed.

No, it was a nightmare.

* * *

"_Aerith!"_

_I nearly shot out of my skin when I heard my name. It boomed from out of nowhere! I was in the hospital and I was organizing the files. Papers were strewn everywhere!_

"_Hey, Aerith." The voice was hard and cold. I saw a pair of boots flip over my desk, then two familiar hands helped me pick up the scattered paperwork._

_I dared to look._

_I screamed. His eyes were a gold-yellow and for pupils, there were slits!_

_When I looked away, I thought I had insulted him, so I averted my eyes away from his face._

_However, there was nothing familiar about him at all._

"_Z-Zack, what did they do to you?"_

"_There you go again, stuttering!" He sounded like a snake. Each word seemed to be hissed. None of his comments sounded playful…_

_They sounded like threats._

"_Z-Zack…what's wrong?"_

"_What's wrong with me?" he hissed, "I'm a SOLDIER. There is nothing wrong with me. The real question is what's wrong with you?"_

_He tossed his stack of papers in his hand as far away as possible. Then he kicked the papers out of my hands._

"_Aerith, you should just shut up. Go away," he shooed me away like an insect._

"_Aerith, I hate—,"_

* * *

I blinked my eyes open; I didn't want to hear it. It wasn't true, right?

_It's just a horrible nightmare. _I rocked myself back and forth, "just a dream," I whispered.

I stayed up for the rest of the night. I didn't want to risk that dream again.

Tomorrow he would become a SOLDIER, regardless if I wanted him to or not.

* * *

**There's chapter four! (yay chapter four.) Chapter five is coming, don't worry, this isn't quite the end of Zack's appearances...that's all the hint I'm giving you. I don't own the main characters, nor do I own this bowl. (points to bowl.)**


	5. Chapter 5

I couldn't sleep at all. Why was this happening? I couldn't let him just become a monster. Well, I could, and I was, but…that isn't really the point. I wanted to be there with him. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad; maybe Zack would be different from the other men who had become part of SOLDIER…

…_but what if he wasn't? _

What if Zack would become violent? What if he wouldn't like me anymore?

Zack was Zack though, right? He's my…best friend.

_Best friend. _Kinda weird, huh? I've only known him for only a few days, and yet I liked him so much. Actually, I liked him from as soon as he smiled at me in those first ten minutes…

I chuckled to myself as I got up from my bed. Was this my first crush? Crush seemed like such a silly word to use for my situation. It felt like I should be using…_squish_. Yes! Squish seemed like an accurate word to say what I was feeling. It wasn't hard, but it seemed…uncomfortable. Zack was my first squish.

I tried to hold back my giggles as I put on my dress for the day. I bet I am the first girl to actually refer to the word _squish_ as the same as liking someone…

I took three steps outside before finally inching back into the house. I'm not even sure if Zack is awake yet. I don't even think _Midgar_ is awake yet! Three in the morning isn't really the most appropriate time to visit in my book. Is it in yours? I doubt it.

So…I sat in an old, well-used chair and waited for the sun. Hey, trust me, it wasn't easy. At about six o'clock, I couldn't take it anymore. I got a sheet of paper and a pen and I wrote in my curly handwriting, a note to my mother saying where I was and when I'd be back. I knew Elmyra wouldn't mind at all.

Well, I knew I'd be answering a few questions after I wrote that I'd be back in the evening. Oh well…At least Zack wouldn't mind. I don't know why, but I felt happy knowing that.

* * *

"G'morning Aerith! You couldn't stay away, could you?" A cheerful voice welcomed me from the front desk as I walked through the sliding doors of the main entrance. The secretary was looking over her glasses with smiling eyes.

"Well," I said, "I'm actually here to visit someone. Would it be okay if I saw him…_now_?"

"_Now_?" She questioned, lifting an eyebrow, "well, who is _he_?"

"Um…" I mumbled, "…his name is…Zack…." I racked my brain for his last name, "Zack…_Zack_…Fair! Zack Fair." I quietly cheered in my mind that I actually remembered his last name.

"Sweetie, he's being discharged today; he should be out by one. Is this a necessary trip?"

"Yes! It's _very necessary_!" I emphasized.

"Okay then…" she mumbled, handing me a visitor's sticker, "…he should be in his room."

"Thankyou!" I managed to get out as I stumbled towards the elevator.

Can you guess who "magically" was inside?

Somehow, I was surprised. I did not see that coming, but…well, Zack _was_ Zack.

"Which floor?" he muttered pushing the second floor button automatically.

"Two," I squeaked, as he lifted an eyebrow, noticing I wasn't in uniform. Then he smirked.

"You're _afraid _of _me_…," he noted leaning on a crutch. His smile got bigger, "…_but_ you came back anyway."

I stayed quiet. He hit me on the back of my leg with his crutch and let out a loud sigh. "You didn't even take the flowers…my little brother ate one. So looks like you're not getting them all back unless you wanna wait for about three days…"

"Sorry…" I giggled; the mood in the elevator didn't feel so tense anymore. Zack had his ways of fixing things.

The elevator opened and Zack swung his arms over his crutches. "_Hate_ these things. _Hate these things_! Torture devices, not medical…" he wasn't really talking to me, he was talking to himself.

"You know what, Aeris?" he muttered, "Hospitals _act_ like they care. What they really _want_ is for you to be sick…"

"Ha, ha." I muttered, holding back laughter.

"What's up with you not volunteering today?" He asked as he hobbled out of the elevator, "what happened?"

"I quit," I blurted out a smidge too fast.

"_Oh_," he mumbled looking at his feet. "Could you volunteer again? For me?"

"I'm not sure…"

We were just about to his room when a miniature Zack ran out into the hall.

"Who's she Zax? Is that your _girlfriend_?" The boy circled us to the point of Zack hitting him on the back of the head with his free hand to stop him.

"That hurt! I'm tellin' Mom…Ooooh…!" The kid noticed before Zack—or me, in this case—that Zack's hand happened to come around my shoulders. I flinched and he quickly drew away. "Calm down," he whispered, "I haven't even gotten the shot yet…"

"I thought it was an infusion."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, it still involves a needle…"

"Zax is a little girl when it comes to needles." The mini Zack mocked, "You should've seen 'im when Mom tried to hem his pants! It was hilarious! He scr—,"

"Shut up Terra!"

Terra crossed his eyes before running into the hospital room.

"Cute," I said as I tried to stifle my fit of giggles. "How old is he?"

"Six." Zack muttered.

"I'm _nine_!" The disembodied voice yelled.

"Dammit Terra, you'd better shut the f—,"

"Zack!"

"Oh, sorry…"

"I'm tellin', Zax!" Terra screamed.

"Fine."

Zack looked at me, "He'll tell my Dad. He wouldn't care at all…"

"When are you getting the mako?" I asked.

"Eight, why?"

"Just curious."

"Hey Aeris?" Zack asked, looking up at me with those lavender eyes, "if I die from mako poisoning…" He reached out and took my hand, "I want you to kill Terra for me."

"Zack!"

He chuckled. "Sorry, but you looked so forlorn about me getting mako. I'm not gonna die. I'll promise you that!"

"Sure, sure," I mumbled, "then after you become a SOLDIER, you'll get sent on some weird mission and you'll end up alone somehow and do something stupid like running head first into like…two-hundred guys…with _guns_!"

"C'mon Aer. Like I'd do something that dumb," he laughed.

"You're right. I does seem a bit stupid. You do have more common sense than what people take you for, right?"

"Absolutely! Wait…what?"

* * *

Eight o'clock rolled by way too soon. I was actually having some fun with Zack. Now that they gave him crutches, he wanted to see the _whole_ hospital. It was probably an excuse to stay away from Terra. They acted so much alike, but I didn't want to tell Zack because there was obviously some "sibling rivalry" between the two.

"I'll be out in about an hour," he promised, "trust me, I won't be a monster, promise."

"Unless he passes out and gets hungry in his sleep." Terra chuckled.

This time Zack and Terra's father was there to hit him. He muttered a quick 'nice to meet you' before dragging his younger son away.

"They say mako heals you fast!" Zack said in a cheery tone, "They say I'll be off these crutches in about two hours after I get some…if you wanna do something…afterwards…"

"I don't know, I'm afraid of SOLDIERs…I'm not sure if it's in the best—,"

"Well you haven't met me as a SOLDIER, have you?"

"No, I guess I haven't, but…"

"Great! I'll see you in an hour."

I sighed as I listened to the clicking of the crutches sink further down the hall. I _really_ hoped this would be okay, Zack is so fun loving. I really hope that that doesn't die when he becomes a SOLDIER. Zack is no killer.

I wanted to be there for him, well I was, but I wanted to be closer…

"Zax is a dork."

Terra joined me in the waiting room. "I have honestly never heard a man swear that much, he mentioned that he was glad you weren't there. If you're curious though, he said 'shit' about twelve times. I counted!"

"Why do you call your brother Zax and not Zack?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Well," he said, "when I was little, I had a lisp, and I couldn't say 'Zack' so the name 'Zax' stuck with me like leather on Sephiroth.

I giggled, "You don't like Sephiroth?"

"Not really, no." he muttered, "but Zax is crazy. That's why he wants to fight alongside him. My best friend's oldest brother actually wants to _be_ him. I secretly think Sephiroth is evil. _Evil_ I say! I bet he sneaks into little kids' rooms and _pokes their eyes_!"

"You have an interesting imagination." I laughed.

"You think I'm lying?" he questioned. "He's the _only_ SOLDIER with glowing _green_ eyes that I've ever seen. If Zax comes back with green eyes, I wouldn't be surprised. _I think_ he's_ evil _too_._"

I'm not sure if my false laughter was very convincing. I'm sure Terra noticed it was fake.

"You like him, don't you?"

"Yes…" I sighed, "…very much."

"I wouldn't worry nothing much'll happen to 'im, except…"

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!" I heard a very familiar voice from across the hall.

"…when the mako begins to kick in…" he finished.

"This stuff _burns!_" I heard Zack yelp.

"Don't worry, yet again…they'll just…"the little Zack started.

"Wait! What are you gonna do with _that_ needle?!"

It was fairly quiet after that statement—no pun intended. I didn't hear a peep out of Zack until about three hours after the set time that he'd said he would meet me at.

* * *

"Sorry," He mumbled, rubbing his eye with his palm, "they freaked out a bit and injected me with something that made me _real_ tired…"

He actually looked kind of cute. Like a little kid waking up from a nap.

He took his hand away and grinned at me.

"I believe we have a date," he murmured sleepily.

Seeing him like this wasn't as bad as I thought. He didn't change much, like he did in my dream…actually he didn't change at all, but I was forgetting one thing about my dream that somewhat became reality. I glanced up at his face.

I think I let out a huge, relieved sigh…Zack noticed.

"You'll get used to 'em, right?" he turned his face down to show his two, sparkling blue, "mako eyes" at me. No matter what they looked like, they were still_ his _eyes. That was all that really mattered.

I told him that I'd have no problem getting used to them, as long as I'd be able to see him. He agreed that he should be able to arrange that…

"I'm not going home," he stated as we walked through the streets of Midgar. It was late afternoon and his grogginess had worn off—a bit.

"How come?"

"Shin-ra technically owns me. As soon as I got mako, I belonged to them. I'm a SOLDIER, third class. I know I'll move up though, Aeris! I promise I will!"

"I have no doubt that you'll make a great SOLDIER."

"Now…about the volunteer stuff…" he interrupted. " I know why you quit, and it's not the greatest excuse…"

"I know," I sighed, "It just didn't seem normal staying around…"

"Please," he groaned, "being normal is overrated."

"So what if I do volunteer? What happens then?" I questioned.

"I'll give you a surprise! Volunteer…late afternoons or evenings preferably!"

Where was he going with this? I knew he was hiding something behind that grin today…it looked far too innocent!

"Fine, I'll consider it." I muttered after fifteen seconds. He was really milking his new ability of "puppy dog eyes." I'll practice up; I'll get him one day.

"I'll hold ya to that."

* * *

**There's ch 5! This is not the end! We still have to see into what goes on in the depths of Zack's head. I don't own the main characters, nor do I own Terra, he belongs to Kingdom Hearts. I wonder what _does_ go on in Zack's head. Hmmmm...**


	6. Chapter 6

_Squeak…squeak…squeak…squeak…_

Even though I've never seen Zack in uniform before, I could guess that the squeaking against the pavement was the same uniform boots that every SOLDIER wore…A.K.A. _Zack's _boots.

It still seemed to surprise me. That he managed to stay so kind to me…well, now that I think of it, he was actually _stronger_ now and he…um…did _threaten_ his brother, and he twisted Terra's arm back to where no arm should ever be, but…

Well, that doesn't really matter!

"I know it's you, Zack. If you're going to be a SOLDIER, you need to work on—,"

Zack appeared to be quicker now too. Well, last time I did see him running he had a gash on his leg the size of Midgar itself. So, I suppose I cannot really judge, he might have always been this fast…

When I turned around, I crashed face first into the navy clad teenager. I didn't even see his face yet and somehow I _knew_ it was him!

"Hiya Aeris!" He beamed, grin stretching from ear to ear. "Sorry, did I catch you off guard?"

"Y-yes! Although, it was easy to guess who you were after the squeaks…"

"Training was a pain today…" he looked down at his feet and frowned, but that was gone in less than a second and his frown was soon replaced with a large smirk, "but see I got a uniform! See, see, see?!"

He charged forward and crashed into me so all I _could_ see was his uniform! I don't know why, but I wanted to create a memory of this…I buried my nose into the sweater.

"You smell nice," I muttered, unaware of what I was saying until it was too late.

He chuckled and I noticed my mistake.

"Well, that was stupid, forget I said anything," I managed to whisper as I backed away. I clunked my fist gently on my skull as I made a face.

"For the record," he said, face turning red, "you smell nice too." He finished the last half of his sentence with a cracked voice. I giggled a bit; it seemed strange for a SOLDIER to have a voice that still cracks. He _was_ seventeen though…but—

"Man," he hissed to himself, turning so his back faced me, "thought I was done with that…"

Yeah, what he said!

When he turned back to face me, there seemed to be a _very_ awkward pause…

This continued for two minutes. If we were in a contest for saying _absolutely nothing_ during a "conversation", we would totally win the gold!

"Soooo…" Zack mumbled after awhile, "Uh…did you volunteer yet?"

I couldn't believe that we've only been friends for what? A week? Two weeks? He was already nagging me!

"_Yes_ Zack! I _did_!" I sighed. He was being aggravating! Yeah, I didn't see him yesterday, and I didn't see much of him the day before, so you'd expect that I would've _missed_ him. I missed him up to the point of him getting annoying. Now I feel sad that I do not have a random object in my pocket to throw at his head.

"So when's your first day?" He inched forward on his toes. I never noticed how much taller he was than me until he got so close…

"Tomorrow, why?" I cocked my head to the side at his sudden curiosity. I mean, yeah, he's always been curious—if he wasn't how'd he ever _think_ of getting a cow into a tree, much less _managing_ it—but this seemed different. There was something in his tone that told me something was up.

"What time?" He asked, mimicking me by tilting his own head to the side. His bangs slanted off his face to expose those icy-blue puppy dog eyes. Apparently, he has still not forgotten that he has some control over my mental decisions now.

I rolled my eyes and said, "I start in the late afternoon and I'm done by dinner time."

"Like _late lunch_ afternoon, or _early snack_ after afternoon?" I was surprised that he was being _serious_!

"Do you always think about food?"

"An army runs on its stomach."

I snorted, "Are you the whole army?"

"Yes I am!" he laughed.

"Well, let's just say _early snack_ afternoon," I giggled, finding myself blush a bit. It's kinda weird. Well, Zack is my…_squish_? Yeah, that…but I have _never_ thought of anyone like this before…

"So it's like at three or something?"

"Y-yeah…why…?"

"Sweet! It's the same time as—," His sentence was quickly cut off as he looked away.

After a short pause he said, "I mean it's the same time as my…break. So I might not see you so much."

"Then why'd you say '_sweet'_?"

"Uh…" He took a few steps away from me, "mako is like a good 'ol rock to the head. Your brains do get knocked loose. Most guys who have gotten it have become quite stupid."

I flinched from an old fear, the one that Zack would become mental or something. _Maybe it happened_.

"Hey look over there!" he yelled suddenly pointing in a random direction, "It's Sephiroth in a tutu!"

"Huh?"

"Worked with the guys down there," he muttered, gesturing behind him.

"Ah, so you're trying to—,"I started.

"Gotta go."

He ran so quickly, it was as if he was shot out of a cannon. Before I knew it, he was gone behind the corner.

"Leave," I mumbled to myself.

* * *

Unfortunately, he left me in the worst part of town that he could. I wanted Zack here more than anything. It was getting so dark now—that must've been why he ran off, he did need to get back to everyone else. I think I was lost; I wasn't paying much attention to where I was heading.

How do I get home?

I was left somewhere in the slums, but that's all that I knew. I was so scared.

"Sephiroth in a tutu, that's definitely somethin' I'd like to see," the smooth voice from behind me was definitely not Zack. I spike of fear rushed through me. I closed my eyes tightly, and my muscles tensed as I heard him come closer.

"Don't worry, Ancient. I'm not gonna _hurt_ ya," the voice crooned.

I tensed tighter as I discovered that there was a Turk behind me and in the worst place ever too! I mean nobody could see me down here; it was dark enough to make out that we were two dark shapes and that's about it.

He sounded like he was alone, that was until I heard a gentle, feminine voice. I couldn't hear her steps, but I felt that at least with her with him, they couldn't hurt me much…but then again, I've heard _his_ voice before, and something pleasant wasn't expected to follow.

"You're scaring her sir."

"Good."

"You should go now, unless you want to take care of this. Oh, and Cissnei, don't call me 'sir' again we're co-workers. Friends too, okay?"

"Y-yeah."

I heard her feet shuffle off as I opened my eyes.

"She's new to all this. C'mon Ancient. Now turn around for me."

I had a slight burst of courage and turned around quickly. Except, my courage faltered as soon as I noticed that he _was_ completely alone; that other girl was gone.

He had his hand out, palm up. This confused me. I studied the scarlet- haired man cautiously.

"I see you've befriended a SOLDIER easily," he muttered with a smirk.

"He isn't anything like what I'd heard! Mako _doesn't_ make you bloodthirsty!"

Reno shrugged, "only said that to protect Shin-ra's most precious interest, the last surviving Ancient."

"Tell me now, is this going to hurt or not?" I folded my arms across my chest; my sudden increase in bravery was surprising, even to me.

"Did I bring Rude?" he asked curtly, rolling his eyes.

Rude was the big one. At least, I _think_ he was the biggest, I have run into both of them before, and it wasn't exactly "nice." I knew what he meant by stating 'bringing Rude,' he meant that he didn't bring any muscle with him, either threaten me more or beat me up.

"So why are you here?"

"You should know better, Aerith." He briskly said. My name sounded so strange coming from him. "You know you're under constant surveillance. I just decided to stop by and say 'hi'"

"Sure you did, and _what else_?" I asked putting a hand on my hip—I probably might regret that move later.

"Tseng said you can't tell Zack about your _Cetra-ie-ness_," he murmured, shrugging.

They know about Zack? So _soon_?

"Why?" I asked it's not as if it's a secret or something.

"The SOLDIER third-class, Zack, is a Shin-ra employee now. So sorry, but only the president and others are on a need-to-know basis." It was _oh, so hard _to detect the sarcasm in his voice.

"Better get a move-on, girly. You should come with me and Cissnei or you'll get lost in a bad spot of town." Reno, being a Turk, was hard to trust. I even had some trouble trusting _Zack_. I drew back slowly.

"I think I can find my own way," I muttered.

"Well good luck to ya. But don't come crying to us when you're dead." With a short wave, he left; and I was left standing in the dark.

No noise. Nothing.

I searched through the darkness to find somewhere safe. This wasn't the greatest part of town and I was definitely, definitely lost. I wanted to be somewhere safe, where I knew I could not be hurt. Where? Where?

I searched for hours until I finally found it, a haven. A safe place.

I opened the doors—they creaked so loudly! It was pitch black inside and the windows were cracked and chipped, I could see the outside just barely, and I could hear the muffled sounds of Midgar through the walls. For a church, it looked as if it has been abandoned. _Maybe it was…_

I sat on the church pew and curled into a small ball.

_At least I'm safe._ I thought quietly to myself. I would find my way out in the morning.

_Who knows? Maybe Zack will find me…_

I chuckled at my silly fantasy as I drifted into a calm, yet uneasy sleep.

* * *

**Horray for Ch 6! Sorry it took awhile, I've been busy this last week. So, we all know the drill; I own none of the main characters and such. If I did, I'd have so much free time on my hands, I'd make so many different versions of FFVII! (Yay.) Now, are we all really curious to see what Zack is up to? I'm thinking about if he ever got the cow _out_ of the tree..._hmmm_...**


	7. Chapter 7

The sun bothered my eyes, when I woke up I forgot shortly where I was…I was startled when I saw all the color around me. I never noticed in the pitch black of last night that this whole church, being in the most horrid place in Midgar, actually grew the most attractive, placid, and sweetest smelling things I have ever seen before. The most beautiful flowers that I have ever seen were sprouting right under my feet! I took a few steps back, until I was safely back on the broken floorboards. I felt a small twinge of guilt for crushing these precious beings.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" the same gentle, female voice I heard from last night came from the doors of the church. I flinched as I turned around to face the young woman. Judging from her appearance, _if_ she was older than I was, it definitely wasn't by much.

"Y-Yes," I said hesitantly. She seemed a lot kinder than Reno but…How did they find me so fast?

"Tseng has had a lot of people keep an eye on you since you met Zack," she grumbled, giving a slight shrug. "You're lucky you found such a nice guy. They pretty much, in fact, are _truly_ stupid."

Zack did have his moments. I remember when—

"He's the first one I have ever seen do that before," she stated, turning her head away from me. It sparked my curiosity and I turned to face her even more, Zack was the last thing I'd expect to come out of a conversation with a Turk. Especially her, I don't know why but I got…this pang of this strange feeling… I have never felt it ever before, so I can't _really_ explain it… Maybe it was because she worked so closely to the SOLDIERs…I don't know.

"Do what?" I asked, my curiosity growing each second.

"Like you didn't know what he's been doing…" She rolled her eyes as she flipped a strawberry curl over her shoulder. Only until she looked up again, did she see the complete look of obliviousness on my face. "Oh, you don't know," she muttered. She glanced at the ceiling, "Zack's been sneaking off so silently; we don't know how he does it or where he goes but we only see him in public with _you_. He seems to be quite a…_phantom_ to us all. Disappearing and reappearing from out of nowhere!"

"He does have a talent for that," I noted to myself in a hushed voice. I had told Zack to work on his stealth, because he'd make noise _everywhere_ he went, but, now that I think of it, Zack had a way of showing up wherever I was…Maybe he was acting. Well, if he was, he had a really, _really_ great act.

"So you did know about it!" She scolded, turning into the mother discovering her daughter had been stealing cookies behind her back. She even poked a finger at me!

"N-not really!" I stuttered, "It wasn't really a _big_ topic in our conversation." I let my voice ooze with sarcasm. Even if I was being defensive, I did _not_ like to show it.

_Not one bit._

"Oh, well so-ry," she retorted, backing off. It made me feel slightly better that I could make a Turk feel like an equal to me. Although, I didn't like to make people feel bad…

Curse my 'happy-natured/ sweet kid' disposition!

"I-it's okay," I muttered. "My name's Aerith, who're you?" Whenever I introduced myself, I always kept my arms behind my back, I wanted to offer a hand to her, but I thought otherwise. She was, after all, a Turk.

"Thought he called you Aeris," she murmured blankly, inspecting her shoes. "You can call me Cissnei. _Everyone_ does these days." Looking back up, she smirked and gave a shrug. I finally understood that we were not very different after all.

"Is 'Cissnei' a nickname? Y'know, like Aeris is?" I had to wonder about it. By the way she was acting; I suspected it _was_ a nickname. For what, though? I tried the possibilities in my head, and found none.

"It is…sort of ," she giggled, "my real name is a little bit longer and you can't get Cissnei out of it at all…At least Rufus can pronounce this one!" She laughed aloud, grimacing, obviously thinking of the many ways the president's son had tried to pronounce her old name, by my guess. I suppose he still acts like a child, in _many_ ways…

She frowned, "the Turks recruited me when I was really young. They got me from an orphanage, I've already been called so many names, this one wasn't much of a difference to me…I like it, though, it sounds a lot prettier than my real name!"

We both chuckled. So we weren't that different after all! Her resiliency surprised me; she just sprung back from anything bad, I have _never_ been able to do that!

"I now see that I have to cut this short, Aerith. Reno sent me down here to see that you survived the night. I wasn't really supposed to be seen. Oh, and do you know that cell phone you rarely use?"

I raised an eyebrow. They even kept a watch in my _phone_?

"Yeah, that one," she continued. "Be expecting some phone calls. _Somebody_ got a company phone yesterday." She rolled her eyes again.

"He's such a dork," I heard her laugh quietly under her breath as she shook her head once, violently.

_But he is my dork. _I thought._ My technology-disadvantaged dork._

* * *

Getting out of the slums was easier than getting in. I easily found my way out of the maze of streets and one more alleyway, and I would be out! I could see the crowded streets ahead of me.

I skipped over the pipes left from the Shin-ra Electric Power Company, taking a quick glance at the leaking blue-green substance. It's strange, it was such a beautiful sight, and yet it ripped my heart to shreds knowing what it was. I tried to think of thoughts that would numb me. I shook my head fiercely trying to get my intelligence away from me for once.

I quickly thought of it as I looked up and saw the sun. _Was it that late already? _I had to get to the hospital! I had no time to change my clothes…but I could _not_ show up like this! I had dirt crusted on my favorite blue dress, what would happen if people saw me like this?

I rushed home, hurrying as fast as I could. I ripped the door to my house open and flew to my bedroom.

"Hot date tonight?" I heard my mother call from another room. I didn't notice she was home, well… she was _always_ home at least that's how it _seemed_.

"Very funny," I laughed as I slipped a white dress over my head, this one was my second favorite. I had three. "No, it's the hospital again; I got a new schedule. I'm late too…I…got lost last night." I might as well tell the truth.

"I noticed."

"Aren't you mad?"

"No," she sighed, she was suddenly in my room with me, "I'm just glad you're safe."

"Thanks…Mom." I hugged her; she seemed so happy right then. I never really realized that somehow, I grew. I noticed I was a good head taller than she was.

"_You just grow up so fast!"_ She sniffled. She technically was my mother; she did raise me after all.

"Go, go, you'll be late for work," She shooed, waving her hands this frantically. I slid on my white shoes as I walked out the door.

I had a swift pace going until I noticed it was getting later, and later. I started to run faster as I saw the hospital. Being late was so out of character for me. I always had a perfect attendance… I rammed face first into the glass doors. _Oh, I'm here. _I sighed in my head._ I feel so stupid..._

I walked into the cold lobby and made a sharp left turn into the volunteer room. I grabbed my name badge from the desk there; it seemed to be waiting patiently for me. Then, I took my old uniform off from the hanger in there and clipped the name badge on. _Here we go…_

I did as I was instructed to, taking _stuff_ to-and-from the lab. I was not all that bad, I had gloves, and it was usually for blood was why I went down there…_usually_.

I got bored in the middle of all it because there wasn't much to do but look at blood. Not fun. So I went back to my old desk, maybe the new volunteer needed some help…?

When I got there I was shocked, can you guess who was there?

Nobody.

I stared at the packets of papers neatly placed on the corner of the desk. There had to be at least fifty of them, the pile was huge! How could anyone work this fast?

I glanced down a box of paperclips, many of them twisted to be nothing more than bits of ragged wire. There were several "good" paperclips on the floor, I leaned down and picked them up.

There seemed to be millions of them and they seemed to be everywhere! I silenced the urge to yell, _'I did it!'_ when I shut the lid to the box and was sure there were no more paperclips anywhere.

My joints popped as I at last got the chance to stand. I stretched my arms as I walked from behind that old desk and back into the hallway.

Of course, I wasn't paying attention.

I was humming to myself as I rammed— certainly, face first. It just would _not_ be me if I didn't ram into something _face_ _first_—into another volunteer. I landed promptly on the floor.

"Lemmie help you." I could hear the smugness in his voice. I watched his knees bend as he knelt on the floor, facing me.

"You are such a klutz," he chuckled, offering a hand. I burst into laughter, why did I never see _this one_ coming? It was so _obvious_!

"Gosh Zack," I giggled, flicking at an unmoving spike of black hair, "_how much_ hair-gel did you _use_ this morning?"

"Only a little…" he mumbled, tilting his head to the side, unlike yesterday, not one, raven-colored hair moved.

I couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "Zack, why didn't you tell me?" I asked, growing curious.

"Easy, I wanted to surprise you." His face was just as blank as ever. Is this an act or is he actually being this thickheaded?

"Isn't _that_ always the case with you…?" I sighed

He grinned like an idiot while helping me up.

"Wait," he ordered, sticking his hands out, "What are we talking about? The fact that I surprise you a lot or the fact that I used too much hair-gel this morning?"

After thinking it out for a while, I smiled and told him, both.

He laughed at me and I asked him how he got here.

This one was a good story. "The food _sucks_ there and I asked if I could spend my evening break hours here. They said _yes_, no questions asked. It's no fun leaving anymore…," he complained.

Well maybe it was not such a great story from his point of view, but it was from mine, it was great! He was going out of his way to come here, why else had he asked me to volunteer again? He did blame _food_ though—that was _always_ on his mind. Maybe I was just twisting things around to the way I wanted them to be…No. I was right. _Right_?

"Thanks for cleaning up my mess," he mumbled, his voice getting lower, "I don't like paperclips…"

I grinned up at him he looked so funny. I can only imagine _the fight_ he had earlier with the tiny objects concealed now in their paper box. He scowled at the little box.

_I went into a giggle fit._

"What's so funny?!" He asked in a hard yet questioning voice.

"Y-you-your face!" I gasped through my laughter. I saw the false insult on his face, and I stopped laughing. Still smiling, I corrected myself, "You know what I meant your expression! You looked like you wanted to _kill_ that box of paperclips!"

"Oh." That was all he said. Then he started laughing too.

"They let me work in the kitchen too," he mumbled, "the leftovers from today were good."

"Is that _seriously_ all you ever think about?" I asked.

"Yeah," He said, nodding. Then he added, "_Pretty much_."

* * *

**Two, four, six, eight, _seven! _Yay ch. 7! Yeah, I don't own these characters or else I would've humiliated Zack more...(No promises that I _won't_ though.) Anyway, the next chapter is coming soon. I already have it halfway done. We shall find out how Zack deals with his first cell phone...Oooooh... That's all the clues I'm giving!**


	8. Chapter 8

I stretched my arms one last time before bed. I was surprised—but wasn't that always the case with me these days. Zack hadn't called me yet. I gave my phone number to him earlier today when he was devouring the leftovers in the hospital kitchen—_after_ we were done with our jobs of course. The kitchen staff had left us some pudding from lunch; Zack thoroughly enjoyed it. He even managed to get it in his hair…how that happened, we shall never know. I think he stuck his head in it or something….

I crawled deep under the blankets, and closed my eyes. Then I heard the chorus of my favorite song playing in my sleep.

* * *

_9:27 P.M._

I turned over onto my stomach and answered my cell.

"_Hello_…?" I grumbled.

"Hiya Aeris! I just figured out to use voice commands!" Zack cheerful voice echoed from my receiver.

"Oh. Hi Zack."

"Hey, what're you up to?"

"Sleeping," I managed to mumble.

"This early?"

"_Mm_-_hmm_…"

"Oh, well—,"

"Let 'er sleep, Zack." A second muffled male voice came through, by the sound of it, he was annoyed.

"How do _you_ know that's what she's up to?" Zack accused.

"Ha." I could hear crashing and slamming, and then I heard something break…

"Zack, give that back!"

_Click_.

I laughed and put the phone on the charger and curled up into my sheets. I suppressed a large yawn as my head hit the pillow; at least he managed to call…

_12:43 A.M_

* * *

The phone rang again. I heard Elmyra turn over in bed from her room.

"Aerith, tell them to _stop calling_!" She yelled. I could picture her shaking a finger at me... I rolled my eyes at her and flipped the phone open.

"Heeeeeey," I recognized this voice as the other guy in the room with Zack from earlier.

"Who is this?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"Kunsel, of course…_who is this_?"

"Aeris."

"Oh crap. Sorry…ZACK YOU'RE NOT CALLIN'—,"

_Click_.

This was going to be a _long_ night. I put my phone on vibrate—just in case...

* * *

_2:57 A.M._

The phone buzzed on my dresser. I glanced at it, considering answering it. I got up and flipped it open anyway. Yawning, I grumbled through my greeting.

"Hiiiiiiyaaaa Aeisssss…"

…

_Something was wrong. Very, very wrong_

"Zack," I muttered. "Give the phone to Kunsel."

"'Kay…"

"Yo."

I ignored him, "what have you given him?"

"Uh…well…" he mumbled

"_Well_…?" I pried, tapping my foot. Gee, I was Miss Impatient tonight..._this morning, _really...

"He's…um…_drunk_."

I sighed, "Isn't he _underage_?" That was a rhetorical question, of course he was.

"Yeah… but he's very entertaining!"

I heard the phone being passed back to Zack.

"Wait, I'm not done with you—," But it was already too late, Zack already had the phone.

"Hi." He sounded like he was six…or even _younger_ maybe.

"Aeis, did I ever tell you about the time I saw the biggest tree I ever saw in my life?"

"…No…" I answered cautiously.

"It was _big_! And it was a _tree_!"

I heard Kunsel's hysterical laughing in the background. I rolled my eyes. He must've been drunk too, but obviously _not as bad_ as Zack…

"Sing your alphabet, Zack!"

_Oh heavens no…_

"A,B,C,D,E,H,I,Q,L,M,N,O,K…Q,B,G,R,S…SQUEWBE…OH GAAAAA!!" He said it all unexpectedly fast.

"See? _Entertaining_…" Kunsel gasped through his laughter.

"Have you ever thought about the word banana? It's _weird_…"

"No I haven't, Zack…" I said, seriously.

"What would ya do if you were a banana ninja? Would you be afraid of cereal?"

"I don't really know…"

"'Nanner Ninjas…heh…" Zack thought he was _pretty_ funny tonight…or today...if you want to say it like that…

"I wanna sock puppet!" Zack sang, "He shall be my side-kick in battle! His name will be _SKSP! _Side-Kick-Sock-Puppet!"

"_Mmm_…" I mumbled, yawning. Zack and Kunsel haven't really given me much time to sleep. I was so tired all of a sudden!

"Tired, Aeis?" Zack asked. Well, you can't expect him to say my name correctly at this point…

"I'll let ya sleep now then," he mumbled, "'G night."

"Night Zack."

There was a long pause on the other side of the phone. _Oh no! Did he pass out?_

"Zack?" I asked, worried.

"_...Aeris_..." He said slowly. I waited, listening carefully.

"I love you. 'G night"

Wait, did I hear him right? I could _not_ have heard him right…It must be the alcohol going to his brain or something…Yeah, that's it!

"Zack…?" I asked him again. Maybe he'd repeat himself…probably not.

"Remember, Bacon Man is watching you…"

_Click_.

* * *

I quickly flipped my phone shut and laid it gently on my dresser again. Either he had gone _crazy_, or I had…Was I honestly going to flip out over _that_? _He was drunk_. He probably never meant it at all…

I seemed to be flying and sinking all at the same time.

I crawled into my bed again, under the cool sheets and waited for sleep to take over. _It never did._

The next day I waited for Zack, when he never showed, that was expected. He was probably so dang sick he couldn't even think straight. Poor thing. Maybe he _won't ever _do that again…

_For a heads up, he didn't call today either._

**Yay, chapter 8. We all know that I don't own these characters, nor do I own Zack's cell phone. (That belongs to Zack!) This is dedicated to Bill, without him I would never have thought about making Zack drunk. (Bacon Man triggered the idea...) Let's see what else..._don't drink underage! It's bad_. (Look at what happened to Zack.)**

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

"Hey Aeris!"

Zack came lunging forward out from behind his desk. He waved a hand at me, laughing.

"Y-you have got to see this!" he gasped through his laughter. "New guy comes in, gets a uniform, only to discover the helmet is too small for his fat head! It has to be surgically removed now…"

I grinned up at Zack; nothing's seemed to have changed. He still has that _bizarre_ sense of humor…

He took me by my hand and led me down the hall towards a waiting room. It was so dark and empty in this one…it must have been an extra one for ICU or something like that. The light from the television flickered from the inside; the volume was just barely louder than muted.

As we passed the room, I saw nobody inside, maybe they were all with this "New Guy."

"Just a little bit further," Zack mumbled, loosening his grip.

Maybe this was my chance to ask, I could just ask him as if it was not a big deal…Well, it was a big deal…but I can act, really well now, thanks to Zack….

"Zack," I asked regretfully, "Do you remember the other night?"

"What happened the other night?" he questioned, letting go of my hand completely.

"You got drunk."

"Oh, that," he moaned, "I have no clue what happened…All I remember is spewing chunks all over that one dude…" He put his hand up to his forehead to reveal a faint pink line stretching from his upper jaw to his cheek. He noticed me staring and quickly covered it up with his hair again.

"_What_ _happened_?" I asked in a whisper.

"It's nothing," he sighed, "just a scratch."

"Zack let me see!" I groaned, touching his cheek.

"No. Don't touch it!"

I backed away slowly; he was scaring me! _Zack was acting so strangely…_

"I'm sorry, Aer. I didn't mean it like that; I just don't want anyone to touch it." He looked down at me and smirked, "_am I forgiven?_" He asked, using those puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah. You _are_."

He grinned. "So what was it that was bothering you about the other night?"

"Um, I was just wondering if you remembered anything…"

"Did I say something dumb?"

"_Banana ninjas_, large trees, Bacon Man, the inability to say your alphabet correctly…"

"Oh…crap." He hissed to himself, shaking his head.

"Did I say anything else?" He demanded.

"…No…" I muttered, "Just promise me you won't _ever_ get that drunk again!"

_"…No problem there…"_

I don't know why I didn't tell him that he said what he said, but I can't so I won't. It'll be my secret…

"Huh," I mumbled to myself as I glanced at Zack.

"What?" He asked. He turned now, fully facing me. His voice was always filled with that sudden curiosity; _I think that's what I liked most about him._

"It's just that your hair seems to grow fast, that's all."

He chuckled, in that small moment of time our hands found each other again. He grinned down at me and started laughing at my expression. It must've looked _really_ dumb...

* * *

"Aw, we missed it! His head's unstuck!"

Zack stomped off to sulk about missing his daily entertainment via Shinra. Soon, he would notice I was gone, but I wanted to see who this "New Guy" was. I peeked into the dark waiting room.

He was in normal clothing, a dark T-shirt, and brown pants. He must've changed his clothes at one point; _I would've changed my clothes too if I had my uniform stuck to my head all day…_

The second thing I noticed was that this guy looked _younger_ than me. He had a smile on his face too, even though he was rubbing his neck where the helmet was connected only but a few minutes ago. His shoulder-length, messy blonde hair was tied in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. There was a kind aura about him and I automatically wanted to be friends with him.

He reminded me so much of Zack. Although…he seemed nothing like Zack. He seemed like he was…special…I'm not entirely sure if that's the _correct_ word for it.

"_You know you aren't invisible_…" He announced while his back was turned from me. He had a wide grin on his face when he turned around. "Hey," he greeted with a short wave.

"Hi." I said back to him. He was the _exact_ same as Zack, but nothing like him at all. _I wonder why that was…_

"So you came down here to laugh at the kid who got his head stuck in his own helmet?"

"No…" I mumbled, "I didn't…_Zack _did."

"So _he_ dragged you down here. Is he your boyfriend?"

"No, not really…but he is my _best friend_. I wouldn't trade him for three gil." I said confidently.

He slung a large bag over his back. I could see the remnants of his helmet in it. "What if I gave you seven gil?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"He'd be gone." I laughed.

* * *

"So you work here, huh?" He asked, shoving his hands into his pockets as I walked him towards or lobby; _everyone got lost here._

"Volunteer," I corrected, "but yes. I technically work here."

"Do you get free meals?" he asked, scratching his head.

"Ye—wait. Is that what all you guys think about?"

"I have a brain like my stomach, a bottomless pit," he announced clunking his head with his fist.

As the glass doors opened, I could feel the heat from outside come in and hit my face. "Later," he said, leaving me with a dorky salute.

It only occurred to me when I was five steps away from the lobby… _I never got his name._

When I looked for Zack afterwards, there were no traces of him. I checked the entire hospital…all except for one spot.

_Kitchen_.

* * *

Zack's eating habits always made me laugh. All I knew was that there was half a cake here this morning and there was no cake here now.

"You killed it," I said, to let my presence be known. Zack wasn't eating—_for once_—he seemed to be in deep thought. His head snapped up for a brief moment and snapped back down.

"Zack, are you okay?"

"I'm _not_," he mumbled, keeping his eyes down.

"Will you look at me?" I asked.

"I _can't_," he whispered.

"Why?"

There was a long silence and I was patient. He got up and walked away from me.

"I can't do this now," he said, more to himself than to me, "I'll call you tonight?"

"Yeah."

Why was he acting like this? I just know something's wrong!

* * *

**Ch 9! Yay! Dun, dun, dun...Zack's gone nuts. (maybe he _did_ drink too much...) Yeah, I own none of the main characters. If I did...well...I would own them!**


	10. Chapter 10

I found myself walking home alone again. It bothered me how Zack was acting so strangely nowadays. Did I say something wrong?

I went to bed earlier because I doubted that phone call would arrive any time soon. The sun was still up when I climbed under the sheets. I decided to check my voicemail to see if maybe somebody had called, like always. Somebody did, my hopes rose as I listened to the monotone voice coming from the phone.

YOU HAVE ONE SAVED VOICE MESSAGE. YOU HAVE TWO NEW VOICE MESSAGES.

FIRST VOICE MESSAGE:

"_Aeris, I'm sorry…I just…um…sorry…this is Zack by the way… don't call me back. I'll call you… I promise."_

...

"_Um…I can't talk to you right now, but I wanted to let you know what's up…Don't call back. Bye."_

What was all that about? He didn't want me to call him anymore…? But why?

YOU HAVE ONE SAVED VOICE MESSAGE:

"_Hiya Aer. How ya doing? How bout I meet up with you after work today? I…"_

I clicked the phone shut. He sounded so much more happier in my saved voicemail than what he did now.

_What did I do?_

I snuggled close to my blankets, I let my eyes and ears shut and block out whatever was troubling me. I tried to block outside life completely…My breathing slowed and I was soon in a deep sleep.

* * *

_Tap._

_Tap…_

_Tap._

_Crack._

The loud snap of my window startled me awake. It was pitch black outside; I couldn't see a single thing. I opened my window and looked out—it was a hopeless case though.

There was a rustling next to our gate and I stared into the blackness.

_He blended in very well._

"Aer…I need to talk with you!"

I stayed silent for a while, listening for my mother...

"Aerith," she mumbled from her room, "what was that?"

"It…it's a bat!" I yelled my lie back to her, "he hit the window! I'll go check to see if he's okay!"

I rushed out of my room, quickly throwing on my favorite red jacket as I opened the door.

* * *

"What is wrong with you?" I asked in a harsh whisper as I gently shut the door. I couldn't see his face and I could just barely make out his familiar outline…He seemed to have…changed.

"I need you to come with me," he ordered, taking my wrist with a firm grip. There was no gentleness at all to this hold…I was afraid again.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I really wanted to know! Zack seemed so strange lately and all I could do was wonder what's going on…

"You'll see," he mumbled, still not loosening his grasp, "You'll see very soon what's been bothering me."

I smiled up at him, even though I knew he couldn't see it really. "Zack, this must be really urgent. You broke my window to get to me." I said it trying to lighten the mood.

I listened to him hold back a laugh, "It's the strength of a SOLDIER. S'pose I'm not used to it yet..."

"You know you could have called…" I said, poking an invisible finger at him.

This time he really did laugh, I never realized how much I missed that sound, "isn't the 'pebbles-at-the-window' thingy what all girls dream about?"

"Yeah, but…it seems like…your current mood…it doesn't seem…" I stumbled over my words, trying to find the correct ones.

"It's okay. I get it. I've been a jerk. In _more_ ways than one…I thought…you wanted me to do that someday. I got my chance to do that didn't I? "

He looked down at something next to his feet. Something glowing. I stared at the pipes leaking mako…They seemed so…pretty.

"Zack, where are you taking me?"

"You'll see."

This was just pointless! I already knew I was being lead through the slums; but why? If he was giving me no explanation, what was the point of asking him about it?

"What is up with all your fragmented sentences?" I asked angrily.

"Don't know," he mumbled. I heard him half shrug with his other arm.

I groaned. This really was pointless…

My wrist began to hurt. Zack had a rough clasp. This was the first time I had ever really seen him like this. It made me feel sad.

_Such a childish feeling._

I shook my head, getting the thoughts out. I can be strong about this. I _would_ be strong about this…

"Let go!" I demanded, pulling my hand—unsuccessfully—away. As soon as I said that, I felt his grasp falter. His hand fell down to mine but he never let go. "Now tell me where we're going or I'll… kick you so hard your ancestors will feel it!" I _was_ going to say _grandchildren_…but that depended on _where_ I kicked.

He chuckled a bit at my threat; he knew I'd do nothing. Or else he probably wouldn't hang out with me so much. He gave my fingertips a tight squeeze, dropped my hand, and took a few steps ahead of me.

"You need to trust me. I'm showing you something, and I want you to be surprised…It's better that way," he said, I could almost hear his smile, "…At least…I hope so."

I felt his hand bump mine. "Do you trust me?"

The question had several meanings; it was hard to answer at first. I took a moment to think it over and there seemed to be only one logical answer…

"Yeah. I do."

I smiled and took his hand. He was gentler when he took it.

"Watch your step!" He said, leading me behind him. "We're going up stairs."

I listened for him to take a step, and then I would take a step. Only when I heard the creaking of doors, did I have a cloudy idea of where I was.

"Zack…?" I began to ask, wearily.

"Be patient!" He ordered. I shut up.

"Close your eyes," he said in a more kinder tone. This time, it wasn't an order…he was asking.

I obeyed. I shut my eyes softly. Zack sighed.

"Now with your eyes shut, I want you to look at me."

"Zack, that's imposs—,"

"Try."

I tried to picture him in my head, I couldn't. It was just as hard the second time too!

"I can't!" I groaned.

"Look," he said, with a serious voice. "We can't do this unless you try! I know what you are, Aerith! I know what you're capable of!"

He took my hand in his, "can you do it now?"

"Y-yeah…I can."

"What do you see?"

Was that a rhetorical question? "…_you_…?"

"Okay!" he said in his normal chipper voice, "Now all ya gotta do is _open_ your eyes!"

…_okay… _I opened my eyes to see Zack. But…this wasn't my Zack…

Wait, how could I even see? It's like midnight outside. Was this all...just a dream?

_It must be the mood he's in. It caught up with me in my dreams! Ha…Zack doesn't even know where I live! Goes to show you that you shouldn't check your_ telephone _messages before bed…_

* * *

**_That update came sooner than expected..._**

**Ch. 10! Yaaaaaay! I'm sorry about the cliffhanger in the last chapter but I was typing that at 1:30 in the morning and I could think of no possible way to end it correctly. It excited me enough to type one the next morning. Yeah, Yeah...If I owned Zack he'd be dressed like a girl by now. (Honeybee manor thingy I thought of four seconds ago.) Oh yeah, I own nobody else either...**


	11. Chapter 11

_Hey, this is me...I'd like to just warn ya ahead of time that this chapter switches points of view. It switches to my personal favorite character of all...me! Okay, okay...I have a big head now...so what?!_

_ Zack.

* * *

_

_Must wake up…_

This Zack smiled at me, "Do you now get what's been going on?"

My blank stare must've been enough answer for him.

"_Don't you understand Aerith?"_ he yelled, grabbing both of my arms, "Can't you _see_?"

He was older…years older. He was at least twenty. His hair was a lot longer and it was styled differently too…Now the scar made sense!

The Zack from my dreams was turning into this!...Right?!

"I'm confused! I am dreaming, right?" I moaned, putting my hand up to my forehead. He looked familiar…this Zack triggered a feeling of nostalgia…but why…?

_Must wake up…_

Reading my mind, he pointed up to the ceiling. "Was that _GAPING HOLE_ always up there?" He asked.

"You're right!" I said, remembering, "You fell through that, didn't you?"

"Yeah!" He said, leaning forward…waiting.

"Wait…" I muttered turning from him, "if _that_ was the first time we _really_ met…What about…?"

"You must miss me a lot. Your subconscious was extremely easy to tap." He said with a smirk.

"_I'm sorry, I'm late Aerith."_

A lump rose in my throat and I tried to choke it down but I couldn't. Was he…? Could he be…? But how…?

"Zack! Y-you're back!" I rushed forward to hug him, to touch him, to feel that he was with me but when I got there, he was gone.

_I have to wake up from this nightmare!_

* * *

He was…_gone... _

It was grey inside the church; no color was left on the flowers…or any beauty from the sun on the shards of stained glass shining on the floor…

There was nothing…

I choked back the tears burning in my eyes. I knelt on the spot where he once stood. Where he once literally fell into my lap. It was all just a dream…I fell asleep again at the church. Spending my time here…It kept my mind off things.

"Zack, why'd you leave me here?" I crooned sadly. "Why?"

It's been almost two years since I had that familiar feeling. The feeling that somebody I dearly loved had left the Planet again. I secretly hoped that it'd be anyone else…somebody other than Zack. I always dreamed that he'd one day soon come through those doors grinning and tell me about his adventures… Was it selfish that I'd rather have somebody else die other than Zack?

Heck, I'd die if it meant Zack would stay.

I promised myself I would not cry. I absolutely had to stay strong. For others, and myself. The last thing I wanted was someone worrying about my business.

I felt the warm liquid fall down my cheeks on into my hair.

"You know, I wish…" I mumbled to him.

* * *

_Zack_

_Damn. Am I that dumb? I should never have told her the truth. I should never have tapped into her dreams! I think I'd kill myself if I weren't already dead!_

_I don't think I'm that bright now. I think dying took a quarter of my brain. All I wanted to do was keep my promise! Was that so freaking hard?! How could I do that without making her cry? I seem to be doing that a lot lately…Maybe I can try…_

"_Try again, Aer…please?" I asked, trying to tap my way back in..._

* * *

I wonder…yeah…maybe that'd work! I shut my eyes and tried to picture his face. I managed physically accomplish that but my mind…oh it hurt.

"I need to talk to you," I whispered.

Silence.

"Please?" I begged.

"_I'm not sure if it works_ _unless you're comatose_," he laughed.

"Don't evaporate," I ordered, keeping my eyes shut.

"I won't. I mean it."

"Do you promise?" I asked.

"Of course."

"Can I open my eyes?"

"Probably not."

"Can I hug you at least?"

"I'll come to you," he said, frustrated. I waited.

"I'm here in front of you now."

I reached my arms out to where I believed he was standing. I wished I could open my eyes, so that I could actually _see_ him.

"I know you've been wanting me to do this, I've skimmed your thoughts…" he mumbled, as I felt something soft and warm on my lips. In an instant, it was gone. I reached out my arms still and waited, I still wanted that hug regardless of what he decided to do _spur of the moment._

* * *

Zack

_Her expression was funny. Even though I just did something she wanted me to do ever since I fell from the roof…Aerith is truly a strange person…one of a kind. I leaned down and picked her up. (It was easy—she's small) I still can't believe I feel so stupid…the guys aren't here anymore to make fun of me for seeing her…I guess it's just a force of habit._

_I was, after all, SOLDIER, first class, Zack. Not, Zack, Aerith's boyfriend. Hell, I wasn't even just plain Zack. I never was._

_I guess I'm not that kinda guy._

_When I looked at her again, she revealed to me something that she'd never let anyone else see in her entire life ever since her Mom died. I put her down and she sobbed into my shoulder. I told her at one time that I'd never let anything hurt her…Did I just…break that promise?_

* * *

I let everything I'd been holding back come out. I told myself I'd never cry, I told myself I'd be strong, but really, I'd just been bottling up my emotions and making myself weaker. Zack's death really troubled me until the point of hallucinations…

"H-how can…you be here?" I hiccupped into his shoulder, are you even real Zack? Did you even truly exist?

"You're an Ancient, right?" He asked, "Do you remember how you used to call me all the time? Y'know, back when I…_when I was in SOLDIER?"_

"Y-yeah…"

"You did that via telephone. I can do this via…_Planet_? I guess that's right…"

I laughed, "So if I miss you enough…?"

"I s'pose it works just like that."

"Zack, did you really have control over my dreams?" I questioned.

"Yeah…why?"

"W-who was that…boy?" A vivid picture of the blonde crossed my mind, "does he really exist?"

"Who Kunsel? Kunsel's real."

"Not him, _Helmet Head_!"

"He's real too…I showed you him for a reason. I want you…" he sighed, "…to keep an eye out for him. He'll look a tad bit different but you should know 'im when ya see him. His entrance is just as cliché as mine was. He'll be confused, I'll warn ya, and he'll take a nasty hit to the head."

Zack seemed to know everything. I wonder if he knew the _whole_ future…

"Zack, do you have to leave soon?" I asked. I could feel him _pulling away_ somehow…

"Yeah, I do," he said remorsefully.

"Then I have one more question for you…what is dying like?"

He answered quickly, "_wet_."

I raised an eyebrow to that.

"It was raining," he stated quickly.

I laughed.

* * *

_Zack_

_She seemed happy enough now. I guess what she really needed to do was cry. I'm glad I was there for her…_

"_You can open your eyes now," I said. I knew after that she wouldn't see me much except in daydreams…but this was what she needed. I watched her light green eyes slide open as a small grin spread across her face._

_I glad that you're happy, Aerith._

* * *

Then I watched him fade away…

I'm glad I left him with a smile. It was always nice to see Zack happy too. I enjoyed seeing that smirk of his.

I checked my cell phone for messages late that night. Of course, there weren't any, especially from the one I wanted to hear from. I wiped away a small, insignificant tear as I skimmed through my saved voicemail.

"_Hiya, it's me…again. I'm gonna come home early this time; we wrapped this up pretty fast down here! Anyway, I'll be looking forward to seein' ya soon. Maybe we can do something together again…it's been awhile, hasn't it? Hey, maybe I'll be your business partner. I've decided... that I'd rather sell flowers with ya…Yeah, there's more of a surprise comin' your way than just that…Bye Aer. "_

TO SAVE THIS MESSAGE, PRESS TWO.

TO DELETE THIS MESSAGE, PRESS THREE.

TO HEAR MORE OPTIONS, PRESS FIVE.

My hand quivered over two for a moment and I soon found that I should be pressing three. I'd see Zack again…eventually. He wanted me to forget so I could be happy…I won't forget him and I'll hear him speak to me again someday…

I pressed three.

MESSAGE ERASED.

NEXT VOICE MESSAGE.

"_Hey," _The familiar voice said in a singsong voice. I don't remember getting this message before…

"_I remember everything I said to you…Trust me, more surprises are coming…so don't freak out, 'kay?" _I could hear the smile in his voice, "_Guess I'll se ya later. Bye."_

YOU HAVE NO SAVED VOICE MESSAGES.

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**Ta-da! Ch 11! Don't worry, this isn't the last chapter...the next one is. I've so far decided to tell it from Zack's point of view (but that can change any second.) So yes...I own none of ze main characters or else ze Genesis clone would be stuck in my ceiling fan...**


	12. Chapter 12

_Epilogue._

I learned after months of trying I just simply couldn't tap into her thoughts anymore. I'm kinda glad about that because some of her thoughts were just absolutely pointless…Some of them included me…Okay, _most_ of them included me after that one dream I caused…

Except those fantasies of hers were weird…They scared me…

_Kids?_

Now that's just weird.

As you probably have figured out, I'm not really the patient type of guy either. Waiting on her to come back was hard…The only person to talk to down here is Angeal, he just goes on and on and on…, and the topics of choice for him really suck. The man was probably emo growing up or something…

I started watching Cloud as soon as he made the cliché entrance of falling through the roof…I think I should've repaired _that_ instead of making that cart…she doesn't even use the thing, I don't think that's too fair to _me_…

I wish I could've told her ahead of time that she'd be seeing me a lot sooner than she expected…

If only I did what I considered to do…

After I met Aerith, I thought about quitting SOLDIER and being just Zack for once. I wanted to take her out of Midgar and maybe somewhere where there'd be lots of flowers for her…I always wanted to pilot something…maybe that would've been the best shot for me…_that was a bad choice of words..._

_Cloud_ still would be _Cloud_. I'd still be _alive_. _Sephiroth_ wouldn't have gone _nuts_. _Nibelheim would still exist!_ In addition, _Aerith…_

…I _wouldn't_ be feeling that draining feeling right now…

Aer and I... we kinda come as a '_package deal_.' I feel what's been happening to her and she…she feels the same for me. You've heard about guardian angels right? I am Aerith's _self-proclaimed_ guardian angel. I guess that's not really necessary now, is it?

It just seems… everything that has happened for everyone seems to fall on _my_ shoulders. If it _weren't_ for me…there'd be no problems with the Planet now.

_When you put it in that context, it all seems very bad._

It took her a half hour to find me! I mean, she could've just _called_for me and I would've _found_ her…_but no…_

_She had to look for me._

Wow, do I feel special. _Yeah right._

I know this isn't really necessary for us to do, but its habit, I guess… She was worried about how Cloud is doing…she noticed when she was…well…Cloud's not acting like _himself _or_ me_.

We're both watching him now; I suppose we're both Cloud's guardian angels now.

She's been so worried latey that she once fell asleep on my shoes. _My shoes_. I doubt that my feet are really that comfortable but she's really _that_ tired. (I'm glad she's not heavy.) I pulled her head up to my chest so that she didn't have to bother with my boots. She didn't even move. It was as if she were dead.

_Wow. That was an ironic simile. _

_Y'know, being in the Lifestream and all..._

I smiled a bit. She turned her head up at me and stared at me for a minute then she smiled.

"Morning?" She asked, unsure of timing here.

"Yeah."

She sat up and scratched her head, "Zack, I've been curious…what do you see here?"

"Huh?"

"I see…lots of flowers…what do you see? Here, in the Lifestream?"

Actually, I'd never really thought about it, but the Lifestream looks like Gongaga and Midgar crossed together to me, I'd never actually thought it looked different to anyone else.

"It looks like my home," I told her, shrugging.

"Do you see any relatives of yours?" She asked with a sigh.

"No, you and me…we're the only ones here right now."

"I don't see my mother either…" she paused in thought "…but I _want_ to be with _you_…" she paused again, "sometimes I wonder what it'd be like if you were a Cetra too…"

That triggered a twinge of guilt…what if…_what if I were an Ancient?_ Aer would see her mom and then we would all live happily ever after…_end of story._

"Zack, I often wonder what it's really like to be _normal_…" She mumbled as she half-buried herself under my arm.

It made me think, she had always wanted to be normal, hadn't she? She once even thought…_I _was _normal…_

I sometimes think she still does…

I think she was sleep talking because she was soon out like a light. I kept my face forward and continued skimming my thoughts until I found my shirt was damp.

"Aer," I asked in a hushed voice, "you _crying_?"

No response

No, she wasn't crying she was _drooling_. So I propped my half-comatose, leaking girlfriend up and let her sleep on my shoulder…she was really quiet, hardly making a noise at all.

I eyed the ribbon in her hair for a few seconds and it all became clear to me…what's always been most important to Aerith was…_her memories._

I gave the bow a sharp tug and it came out freely into my hand. Without trying to wake her I turned it over and inspected it. Faded from the bright pink it once was on one side and just as good as new on the other.

I shook my head; she must have never taken it off…

As gently as I could, I relived the moment of giving her that ribbon. Flipping it over to the brighter side, I tied it very tightly around her braid so it would never fall off again…I knew that that ribbon doesn't actually exist but I know…for the both of us…_we can both see it_.

That ribbon…it wasn't just a ribbon after wearing it for all those years…it was special, it… did _absolutely nothing_…it… I dunno really. I guess it had some...sentimental value.

Great…five minutes with the woman and I'm talking like her…

I noticed she was being abnormally still… "Aer, you alive?" After a short pause I thought better to rephrase that, "Are you faking, Aerith?"

I looked straight at her face; she managed to keep it straight for three-point-five seconds before a wide grin spread across her face.

"Aerith!" I yelled as she burst out laughing.

So, that's how our story _began_…

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**Yessss! The final chapter is up! I'm sorry it took so long, but I didn't really want to see this story die (sad face) I'm planning on writing another one about Zack and Aerith's misadventures and it should be posted soon (and I mean _soon_. Like in the next two minutes of me typing this.) Anyway, I don't own the main characters or else...Zack would've made more than four face-plants in Crisis Core...yes! I counted... trip-ups too!**


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